Furstadæmið Nyelant
The Principality of Nyelant was founded in 1499 by Prince Eirík VI the Kind, as an independent colony of Norway, while his father, King Eirík V, ruled Norway. It is ruled by the House of Gryf, who came to power through succession to various thrones. The House of Gryf is originally from Pomerania. Nyelant's ethnic groups are fairly homogeneous, mainly being offshoots of a once unified Norse culture. The Nyelanders themselves are only the second most populous group in Nyelant, far behind the Norwegians. Swedes, Danes, Faeroese, Shetland, Sami and Pomeranians also populate certain areas. Most of the Nyelanders work either in the timber industry, the fishing industry, or the sheep-herding industry. Nyelant supplies a good portion of the world's lumber, and so Nyelant has a fair amount of resources to trade. Owing to their Viking heritage, the Nyelanders also occasionally raid foreign coasts in their longboats. Nyelant is not the poorest, nor the richest of countries. Nyelant is very cold, with winters being especially harsh. As such, grain is not actively cultivated, and is imported from other regions. The Unified Scandinavian Period (1382-1459) The first member from the House of Gryf to rule Scandinavia was Eirík III Gryf (1382-1459, reigned 1389-1459), King of Norway (Eirik III), King of Denmark (Erik VII), King of Sweden (Eric XIII) and Duke of Pomerania (Eric I). He was renowned for his diplomatic skill, for it requires an apt negotiator to keep all of Scandinavia under one crown. He inherited the crown of Denmark-Norway, already in a union, from his mother Margaret of Denmark. Upon the death of Albert of Mecklenburg, King of Sweden on the thirteenth of March 1389, he succeded to the throne of Sweden through his wife Ana. He was crowned ruler of Scandinavia in Kalmar, the new capital. Eirík was a fair ruler, however he gave little funding to the military, and soon the nobility revolted in Pomerania. The Prince's forces saw initial success at the battles of Colberg and Ludwigsborg, but were badly beaten at the battle of Hanshagen. The Peace of Stolp, signed the thriteenth of May 1413, saw the secession of Pomerania as an independent state, ruled by his brother Lukas I Piast. This whole debacle caused the King to be forever known as "Eric the Weak". The rest of his reign was uneventful, except for minor involvements in the Hundred Years' War. The Era of Two Erics (1459-1502) The union was left in an unsteady state after the death of Eirík III, plagued by nationalism in Sweden and crop failures. In 1460, the young son of the new King Eirík IV, Prince Haakon, died of cholera, and a search for a new successor began. A distant relative, from the House Blauhild, only seventeen years of age, was chosen to be the new Prince. As his real name was not considered suitable for royal affairs, he took the name Eirík, to honour the King who had chosen him to be his successor. The newfound peace would not last forever, for as soon as Prince Eirík reached twenty years of age, his father was assassinated in the capital. Eirík V Gryf would never recover from that attack, and he would forever be unwilling to take any strong action or opinion on anything, reasoning that it might cause the populace to revolt and kill him, too. This would soon come to haunt him, as tensions were flaring in Sweden, and war soon broke out. The King's inaction earned him the name "Eric the Afraid", and the Swedish rebels easily defeated the crown. However, there was some hope. Eirík's son, also named Eirík (born 13 December, 1481), proved to be a very good student, and an avid military man. The remaining people loyal to Eirík V were directed under the control of Prince Eirík, and they soon set sail for an island that hadn't been seen for 300 years. When they arrived sometime in 1499, they found no people left from when Viking colonists had claimed in the 800's. It seems, from church records, that they all must have perished in an intense period of volcanic activity sometime around 1200, where massive eruptions occurred nearly everywhere on the island. The Colonisation of Nyelant (1499-1502) Prince Eirík was a strong leader, and convinced the 400 or so people on board to stay, and make a new life for themselves. They called this land "Nýtt Land", or New Land, which has gradually changed over the centuries to "Nyelant". Prince Eirík grew accustomed to his life in Nyelant, proclaiming himself the Prince of Nyelant, with support from the newly re-established Parliament, the Alþingi, centred in Þingvellir. He was coronated on the 13th of January, 1500 in Skálholt, which is where the new capital was placed, seeing that an old cathdral had survived, along with suitable building grounds for a palace. The Nyelanders fared well under the rule of Prince Eirík, as he shared his wealth with the common people, and gave them consolation in times of distress, giving him the nickname "the Kind". Ever since Eirík III Gryf, the royal family had traditionally been Catholic, but in 1502, he decided to convert to Lutheran Protestantism in order to better connect with his people. He appointed his distant cousin, Olaf Blauhild, as Bishop of the Cathedral in Skálholt, to help further his efforts. Despite his conversion to Lutheranism, most of the Nyelandic nobility remains Catholic. The Reign of Eirík VI Gryf (1502-) Prince Eirík VI Gryf was 21 when his father, King Eirík V, passed away. It seems that, as the Prince had been engrossed by matters in Nyelant, his father lost control of Denmark and Denmark won its freedom through a civil war. According to Nyelandic succession laws, Eirík VI was entitled to everything that his father owned at the time of his death. From this he inherited the titles King of Norway and the Protector of the Faeroes and Shetlands. Prince Eirík has been known as a unifying king, for his reign's stability is something the people wanted after the civil wars during the period of two Erics. He advocates for individual determination of languages, with the Kingdom of Norway choosing their official language as Norwegian, the Faeroes Faeroese, and the Shetlands Norn, in conjunction with the lingua franca of Nyelandic. Eirík is discontent with the losses in territory by his predecessors, and has ramped up military spending immensely. There is now a standardised fleet of longboats, the Viking's most fierce warship, and a legion of armed footmen, proving trusty warriors time and time again. On January 14, 1518, Eirík proclaimed "Pommerns Blóðlag" the national anthem, mourning the loss of the ancestral territory of Pomerania The Nyelandic Military The Vörður Koningsins, the Royal Guard, is the elite legion of footsoldiers employed by the king. They are exceptionally trained, and ferocious on the battlefield. They are clad in chainmail, with longswords, wooden shields and iron helmets. On the shield is inscribed "Yfirgefa okkur einn", the national motto. On important documents, the more common Latin version is used: "Nos Relinquere Solus". The motto is emblazoned horizontally, inside of the horizontal band of the Nyelandic Cross, shown on the Nyelandic flag. Under the chainmail white clothing is worn, so as to show that the warrior suffered no damage during the battle when it is over. The Nyelandic Royal Navy, the Konunglega Flotans, is made up of solely longships. The sailors of these longships carry on an ancient tradition of the Vikings, using centuries of knowledge to their advantage. This makes for expert sailors, and even better fighters. The Nyelandic Navy is among the most feared in the entire world. The Self-Reliance of Nyelanders Trade is one of Nyelant's big industries, however if it were without it, it could still survive. The Nyelanders are completely self-sufficent when it comes to resources, because of their excellent sheep-farming and fishing expertise. The sheep provide meat, milk and wool, and the fish are plentiful of both the shores of Nyelant and Norway. Norway is one of the major timber producing regions of the world, providing 10% of all the world's lumber. This is a tremendous source of revenue for Nyelant, which they can use to import more expensive goods. While the number of people doing what job is relatively unknown. Many people in Nyelant do two jobs at once, making estimates difficult. However, the amount of trade revenue from these resources is well documented. Around one sixth comes from the sale of fish, one twelfth comes from the sale of sheep products, and the remaining nine twelfths is from the sale of lumber. Grain growing is relatively difficult in Nyelant, because of harsh weather and poor soil. As such, most of Nyelant's grain is imported. This is the number one import. Beef is also very expensive in Nyelant, because cows also have a hard time surviving the Nyelandic winters. The Alþingi The Nyelandic Alþingi is made up of 39 goðar, elected in districts. The current head of the Alþingi is Ole Sveinsson (VR). The Speaker of the Alþingi (Alþingi ræðumaður) is Gudni Bjaerneson (OÐ). The goðar also function as the Lögrétta, the legislative council which determines the fate of the folk who commit the highest crimes in Nyelant. The current Lögréttas ræðumaður is also Gudni Bjaerneson. There are five main blocs in the Alþingi. The Víkingamaður are the Viking Men, the Hefðbundið Fólk are the Traditionalists, the Miðlungs Stéttarfélag is the Moderate Union, the Framvinduhópur are the Progress Group, and the Óháðir are the independents. They normally vote together, bar the independents, on issues, but the parties are only loose associations, leaderless, and members are free to vote their mind. District Names - Corresponding to Numbers # Ísafjörður # Reykjafjörður # Vattarnes # Kleifar # Grundarfjörður # Skorradalshreppur # Reykjavík # Þorlákshöfn # Sandgerði # Selfoss # Ásólfsskáli-Vestmanneyjar # Vík # Kirkjubæjarklaustur # Hof # Breiðdalsvík # Eskifjörður # Vopnafjörður # Húsavík # Svalbarðseyri # Akureyri # Hólar # Ábær # Blönduós # Arnarvatn # Kalmanstunga # Hvitárvatn # Skálholt # Hekla # Krókslón # Eldgj # Kálfafell # Skaftafell # Fljótsdalshreppur # Egilsstaðir # Reykjahlíð # Hrafnagil # Hörgársveit # Vatnajökull-Vestur # Vatnajökull-Austur Gallery